Statement of the 2nd plenary of the session of the 4th National Congress National Committee Meeting
Johannesburg
May 24, 2015
“Study, disseminate and implement the resolutions of the 4th National Congress”
The Young Communist League of South Africa [uFasimba] held its 2nd plenary session of the 4th National Congress National Committee meeting from Friday until this morning in Johannesburg.
The National Committee was held while we are still mourning the passing away of one of the gallant fighters of our liberation struggle Mme Dr Ruth Mompati was buried yesterday in her home town of Vryburg. We are forever grateful of the role she played in fighting for the freedoms we enjoy today. We once again send our deepest condolences to her family and the Mass Democratic Movement [MDM] in its entity.
We are gathered here today a day before Africa Day. For this year’s Africa Day we will be launching our “Read to Lead” campaign. The YCLSA is declaring war on illiteracy. Africa has the largest rate of illiteracy in the world with 25% of youth in Africa unable to read and write. We hope this campaign will make a meaningful contribution on the war against illiteracy.
The campaign will be launched at Thuto Pele High School in Kagiso, West Rand. The aim of this campaign is to improve the levels of reading and writing amongst youth. The YCLSA is concerned about the low levels of reading and writing amongst the youth. We will therefore before launching a campaign to ensure that every empty community space is transformed into a learning space. Through this campaign every young person should be able to read and write proficiently.
As we call on all to study we will also be disseminating and implementing the resolutions of the 4th National Congress which has held at the University of the Western Cape in December last year. Young people are the most affected by the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequalities. The YCLSA will redouble its efforts in fighting for a socialist South Africa because for us only socialism can bring betterment to the lives of our people.
On FW De Klerk
As the YCLSA, we are deeply concerned about the utterances of F.W. De Klerk in recent months aimed at attacking the SACP and the movement in South Africa. De Klerk has become the mouthpiece of rich whites hell-bent on preventing the redistribution of wealth from white monopoly capital into the hands of the black working class.
De Klerk has positioned himself as the mouthpiece of capitalism in South Africa and his anti-communist vitriol is reflective of a Cold War leader. De Klerk is no different from Cold War anti-communist leaders like Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
We must remind South Africans that F.W. Klerk was a leader of the Apartheid regime that systematically instituted brutal, oppressive policies against black people. F.W. De Klerk as a former leader of the National Party-led Apartheid government has no understanding of democracy and has no basis to lecture anyone on democracy.
Respect for political and civil rights is a cornerstone of any democracy. F.W. De Klerk can never be regarded as a democrat for his open condemnation and hatred for communists. De Klerk is a disgrace and should be charged for inciting hatred towards communists in South Africa
On the xenophobic attacks
The National Committee believes the solution to this crisis lies in characterizing it correctly. We hold a strong view that these attacks have nothing to do with the fear of foreigners but has everything to do with the jostling for economic opportunities and the scramble for resources. If it was xenophobia it would have been also directed at Europeans, Asians etc.
The enemy of our people is the big malls that are being erected in our locations daily by big corporations. These are working class people who are not necessarily aware that their common enemy is capitalism and not each other. Capitalism pits the working class against each other in the rush for economic opportunities.
We call for the investigation of criminal activities that may be taking place in communities.
On Eskom
The National Committee is of the view that load shedding is a manufactured crisis aimed at discrediting the ANC government and portraying it as a failure. We strongly condemn efforts by a 'hidden hand' to privatize Eskom for their own personal interests. The efforts to privatize Eskom by the 1996 class project are precisely what have led to challenges in the supply of electricity that Eskom is facing today. We remain convinced as the YCLSA that Eskom can never be privatized as the provision of electricity is a common good and not a private privilege.
Those who have benefited from the supply of diesel for premium prices at the expense of energy for the poor must be brought to book. The challenges of energy present an energy opportunity that cannot be left to select few white monopoly capitalists to benefit from. We also call on the relevant Ministers to look at that possibility of a 'workers take over' of Eskom rather that privatizing the entity.
2016 Local Government Elections
The YCLSA continues to have confidence in the African National Congress [ANC] and strongly believes that it is the only party that has the best interests of our people at heart. The ANC has done a lot for our people in the last 21 years and more can still be done by the ANC to bring betterment to the lives of South Africans especially the working class and the poor.
It is for these reasons that we will be immediately implementing our elections campaign strategy. We will go all out to ensure an overwhelming victory of the ANC in the 2016 local government elections. We will invade both rural and urban areas, campuses, factory floors, and farms to ensure that our people are reminded of the good story that the ANC has to tell.
On COSATU
The National Committee notes that there is a problem of personality cult in the federation. Part of the problem is that we have members who vow their loyalty to individuals than Cosatu. The culture of “members of members” has entrenched itself in the federation.
Our federation is being disrupted by tribalists. These tribalists see themselves as entitled to lead the federation. They are prepared to shove our federation down the drain if they can’t lead it. They are using the old tactic of the Xhosanostra which was defeated a long time ago. We are not in a Xhosa war here; we are fighting a war for better working conditions, a living wage and the obliteration of the exploitative white minority capitalism.
State of the PYA
We are extremely worried with the continuous losing of the control of campuses by our ally the South African Students Congress [SASCO]. We of the view that we cannot afford to donate space to reactionary organizations like DASO and EFFSC.
Our view is that our comrades must desist from sitting in tender committees of the universities. Our comrades must be occupied and focused on fighting against financial exclusion and other issues that students are faced with.
We will be holding a bilateral meeting very soon with SASCO to go to the root of the problems and source solutions to this problem. The YCLSA remains a true ally of SASCO and we will go into tranches side by side in defending our revolutionary gains.
Statement issued by YCLSA National Secretary, Mluleki Dlelanga, on behalf of the 4th National Congress National Committee, May 24 2015
